The Retention of Calcium and Phosphorus by Pre-School Children

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Abstract
A comparison has been made between milk and a fortified cereal as sources of calcium and phosphorus for pre-school children. The subjects were four girls and six boys ranging in age from 3 to 6 years. To rule out possible variations which might be due to changes in age, weather and season, the children were divided into two groups each consisting of two girls and three boys and the sequence of diet periods was reversed. An adequate basal diet was used. To eliminate effects of previous calcium depletion, if any, extra calcium for saturation was fed in the form of lactate or the phosphate mixture used for fortification of the cereal. Final analysis shows that there is no significant difference between the retentions of calcium and phosphorus regardless of the salt used. With the same basal diet the retention of calcium and phosphorus was determined when 200 mg. of milk calcium was replaced by 200 mg. of calcium in the fortified cereal. In one period the storage of calcium and phosphorus was significantly better when these two elements were supplied in part by the fortified cereal rather than by milk, while in a second period of comparison the availability of calcium and phosphorus as measured by retention was the same. The children were in positive calcium, phosphorus and nitrogen balance throughout the study and more phosphorus was stored than was required to convert retained calcium into bone. The averages of the results obtained for two groups of children over a period of 6 months were in close agreement. The daily storage of calcium was between 11 and 12 mg. and of phosphorus between 7 and 8 mg. per kilogram body weight. About 19% of the calcium and 11% of the phosphorus were retained. All children grew at rates better than those given as normal by the Iowa Child Research Station. For maximal retention of calcium it was necessary to have a daily intake of over 700 mg. of calcium. When a part of the milk calcium of an adequate diet was replaced by an equivalent amount supplied by tri-calcium phosphate in a fortified cereal, utilization as measured by retention was equally good from milk and cereal.